Trudeau Resignation Threatens Progress of Canadian Gambling Bills

^{Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with the media on Thursday. (Image: Jose Luis Magana)}

Monday’s announcement that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be stepping down from his position – as well as from his leadership of the Liberal Party – sent a shockwave through Canadian politics. But the fallout from his decision will also have a clear and immediate impact on the gaming industry in his country.

As part of Trudeau’s announcement, he asked Governor General Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament, shuttering the national legislature until March 24.

Prorogation Leaves Gambling Bills in Limbo

That decision ends progress on any bills that haven’t yet received Royal Assent. Included in the many bills that will have to be reconsidered by a future Parliament are two bills regarding sports betting in Canada.

The bill further along in the legislative process was S-269, which had been introduced by Ontario Senator Marty Deacon. That bill would ask the Canadian Heritage Minister to develop national standards for advertising in the gaming industry. The rules would include how often gambling companies could run ads, as well as where and when those ads could appear.

In November, that bill cleared the Canadian Senate. However, it never received a First Reading in the House of Commons, as the minority Liberal government and the Conservative Party found themselves in a battle over access to unredacted versions of certain documents. That fight stopped all other business in the chamber until the House of Commons left for its break on December 17. 

That lack of progress is what Trudeau cited in his request to shut down Parliament until March.

“Despite best efforts to work through it, Parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority Parliament in Canadian history,” Trudeau said at a Monday press conference.

That now brings into question when a new version of S-269 will wind its way through the legislative process, though at least some in the industry are confident it will eventually do so.

“I don’t think this changes the pathway for the igaming-advertising bill, just delays it,” Mark Harper, head of emerging markets at BVGroup, told CDC Gaming. “Certainly doesn’t change any of the strategies that BVG had planned.”

First Nations Gaming Bill Also Halted

Additionally, the prorogation of Parliament means there will be no further progress on S-268, a bill that was first introduced in 2023. That bill, conceived by Alberta Senator Scott Tannas, was a response to Canada’s move to allow single-game sports betting in 2021. At the time, that law singled out provincial governments as being allowed to legalize the practice, but didn’t specify whether First Nations tribal groups had the same rights.

Among other aspects of the bill, S-268 would have changed the Canadian Criminal Code to clarify that First Nations governing bodies could manage all gaming operations on their reserves, including sports betting.

The next Canadian national election is scheduled for October 20. However, if members of the New Democratic Party abandon their Liberal allies when Parliament resumes in March, it could trigger an earlier election, perhaps over the summer.